Following the huge success of the The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition at Dublin Castle, a limited edition illustrated book has been published in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy and a national tour of the exhibition will take place over the coming months.
The Treaty of 1921 is perhaps the most famous and important document in modern Irish history. How was it negotiated? Who signed it? What was life like for the Irish delegation that went to London to conclude it? Using the documentary record that they left behind, much of it published here for the first time, this lavishly illustrated book, based on the original exhibition, explores the world that the Irish delegation lived in for seven fateful weeks in 1921, and how the Treaty that they negotiated came into being. Co-edited by Dr. John Gibney (Royal Irish Academy) and Zoe Reid (National Archives), this book takes as its primary source records from the National Archives which chronicle the day-to-day life in London for the men and women who made up the Irish delegation from parties attended, dinners hosted and appearances at theatre and gala performances, to minutes, memo’s, drafts and letters between Dublin and London to the tense final days and hours leading to the signing of the Treaty just after 2am on 6 December 1921. The catalogue was launched in Dublin Castle on 23 March 2022 by Dr Maurice Manning, chair of the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations. Find out more about the catalogue here.
A travelling version of the Treaty exhibition will tour Wicklow, Tipperary, Donegal, Wexford, Limerick and Cork from April until July 2022. The exhibition is presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Royal Irish Academy, the National Library of Ireland with records from the collections of the Military Archives and University College Dublin Archives.
25 April–17 May 2022: Wicklow Library & Archives, Wicklow Town
3–31 May 2022: Source Arts Centre, Cathedral Road, Thurles
5–31 May 2022: Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny
23 May–10 June 2022: Wexford County Council, County Hall, Carricklawn, Wexford
9 June–5 July 2022: St. Peter’s Church, North Main St, Cork
9–30 June 2022: Limerick City and County Council buildings, Merchants Quay (Istabraq Hall)
